On Friday 1 July, we belatedly celebrated our eighth birthday at the Cambridge Cookery School with the entire company in attendance. Beacon's newest staff members were given the opportunity to showcase their skills in a mini bake-off, competing with the office's regular bakers Ella and Sophie P., among other seasoned pros, and each dish was a roaring success!

Several batches of Swiss rolls and salted chocolate brownies were whipped up in the first hour and, while they cooled, we made flatbread with za'atar, before enjoying our treats with some well-earned glasses of prosecco. The exact winner of the bake-off was carefully considered but, despite several rounds of taste-testing, opinions were divided between our devoted chocolate-lovers and those rooting for the summery citrus flavour of the Swiss rolls.

The main event was our souk feast, where we were served the delicious dishes we had worked so hard on - harissa chicken, spiced chickpeas, hummus, couscous, and our hand-made flatbreads. By the time we began our dessert of rosewater and honey-seasoned fruits, we were feeling very proud of our collective culinary skills! However, our eyes must have been bigger than our stomachs because although we all ate particularly well, we were lucky enough to have some leftovers to take home. The Cookery School's team were incredibly welcoming, offering advice on how to knead dough, and attending to the washing-up throughout. The big question now is this: what should we do next year?